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Hi Ma,

Some further musings about the latent, very latent, Scottish identity I think I learned (curiously somehow) in our family growing up - and with regards to this web pages' pictures - http://www.clan-macleod-scotland.org.uk/clan-history - which are all symbols of this MacLeod identity, as I see it, - yet I was only familiar with some of these. Interesting to see the above page on a smartphone per this email (as a record too) - because they're quite visible (whereas the web page in gmail is very spread out and the pictures aren't so easily seen) - with regards to the Internet too re identity. I'd like to ask you further about how such identity emerged in our family history - from Grandpa (Alexander Chadbourne Brown aka Sandy), Granny (Rachel Gilbert Brown) and Dad (Gordon Kenneth MacLeod MD) and yourself (Janet Kirkbride Brown - with your quite Scottish name too), at some point.

With regards to this 1st picture of Dunvegan Castle "The Keep was built inside the curtain wall at Dunvegan Castle, around 1340" -

- http://www.clan-macleod-scotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/fields/image/dunvegan_castle_1841.gif?itok=M8AFkqOD - I've been aware of this since the early 1970s or so.

With regards to this second picture of the MacCrimmon Cairn, Boreraig "John MacFadyen piping at the MacCrimmon Cairn, Boreraig in 1974. Seton Gordon is on the left" -

- http://www.clan-macleod-scotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/fields/image/macfadyen_piping_cairn_600.jpg?itok=i0zAI2l3 - I recall being aware of Boreraig, this cairn to the MacCrimmon pipers, hereditary bagpipers to the Clan MacLeod (from the 1970s), but I don't recall this particular event of John MacFadyen piping - and in this photo with Seton Gordon (to the left) in a very Scottish POSTURE leaning on his shepherd's crook / staff, back to the wind probably, and LISTENING to bagpiping (all very symbolic). FASCINATING too that I went to a College of Piping summer camp with the great piper JOHN MacFADYEN (whose first book of bagpipe music, I still play tunes from - this past week, for example), thanks to PM Sandy Jones, in part, in North Carolina preceding the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in the 1970s.

With regards to this third picture of the "The tomb made for Alasdair Crotach MacLeod at St Clement's Church, Rodel, Harris, as it might have appeared" -

- http://www.clan-macleod-scotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/crotach_tomb_cl_600.jpg?itok=QGwSEsJZ - this is completely new for me. I didn't know this narrative from the 1970s as a teen, and would like to learn more. (Would like too to develop all this pictures into a realistic virtual earth for history - think Google Street View with TIME SLIDER, and here's the isle of Harris itself in Street View with photos too - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Harris/@57.8896184,-7.4593356,9z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x488d994a185ff281:0x955e10628e919da9!8m2!3d57.9932604!4d-6.8736215 - AND Alasdair Crotach MacLeod's tomb in Street View - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Harris/@57.7409139,-6.9631456,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipNkb4gf2-AJQR2ZzxrOwo_d9CbNfh15yX4xkFpk!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNkb4gf2-AJQR2ZzxrOwo_d9CbNfh15yX4xkFpk%3Dw203-h130-k-no!7i3450!8i2217!4m5!3m4!1s0x488d994a185ff281:0x955e10628e919da9!8m2!3d57.9932604!4d-6.8736215). What's also FASCINATING name-wise (Lacanian-wise even too) is that I currently play in Open Band (in Berkeley, California) in a church of the same name - St. Clement's (Episcopal Church) - on Monday evenings for Scottish Country Dancing. ...


Open Band will play again on Mondays in September in the beautiful hall at St. Clement's Episcopal Church (2837 Claremont Blvd, Berkeley) near Claremont Hotel & Spa. Scottish Country Dancers & Musicians Welcome. See too https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Scottish_Country_Dancing… for @WorldUnivAndSch music+ subjects

Open Band will play again on Mondays in September in the beautiful hall at St. Clement's Episcopal Church (2837 Claremont Blvd, Berkeley) near Claremont Hotel & Spa. Scottish Country Dancers & Musicians Welcome. See too https://t.co/jralgPlavK for @WorldUnivAndSch music+ subjects pic.twitter.com/nXrve6xIUj

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) June 25, 2019

- https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1143625333037342720 ...

With regards to this fourth picture of the Fairy Flag, and the Dunvegan tower - "The Fairy Flag is still preserved at Dunvegan. Alasdair Crotach MacLeod added the Fairy Tower to the Castle" -

- http://www.clan-macleod-scotland.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public/fairy_tower_flag_600.gif?itok=fr_WD6c0 - I recall hearing of and reading about the Fairy Flag in the 1970s in my teens, but I never really resonated with the fairy or magic stories associated with it, or with the rallying around a flag aspect of it either symbolically.  "The Fairy Flag is known for the numerous traditions of fairies, and magical properties associated with it" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Flag).

FASCINATING too as I think through making my upcoming "Honey in the Bag" Scottish Small Pipes' CD in 2020, that I studied with John MacFadyen as a teen, and somehow that I even play the bagpipes - identity-wise. (And that I studied at Fettes College too in 1976-1977 or 1977-1978, and have also studied at the University of Edinburgh in 2003-2004, identity-wise too).


With regards to the narratives in this - "Clan MacLeod Society of Scotland - 'History of the Clan MacLeod: Early History'" page - http://www.clan-macleod-scotland.org.uk/clan-history - I was familiar with some of this in the 1970s, but interesting that I play a bagpipe tune (from the College of Piping's Green Tutor vol. 1, called "The High Road to Gairloch" and another tune with "Assynt House" in it) ... and that, according to this history, "The MacLeods of the Lewes acquired Gairloch and Assynt on the mainland and the Isle of Raasay," which I just learned, for ex.

And with regards to this paragraph "Both MacLeod Clans supported the MacDonald Lord of the Isles, semi independent kings on the west coast. In Skye land was lost to the MacDonalds. After the forfeiture of the Lordship of the Isle, in 1493, the MacLeods and MacDonalds began feuding. At this difficult time Alexander MacLeod, 8th Chief of Harris, known as Alasdair Crotach, kept the clan lands together and built himself a fine tomb in St Clement's Church, Rodel, Harris," it's interesting to me that Roddy MacLeod and Finlay MacDonald are the two current heads of the National PIping Centre, which just merged with the College of Piping (in 2018). I also didn't know the history of Alexander MacLeod, 8th Chief of Harris, later known as Alasdair Crotach. (Am appreciative of the fact that I'm emailing you from my Yoga Mac Flower email re all this 'feuding' language, and also that I'm a Quaker, a f/Friend, and a nontheist Friend too - and that you and I, Ma, are communicating about all of this via email over the Internet, with many nice Dunvegan Castle web sites on the web, but not much yet in a realistic virtual earth, realistic virtual Scotland, realistic virtual Skye, Harris and Lewis, for example).

Re the last paragraph, am appreciative, too, of this very long tradition of MacLeod piping, identity-wise too, re MacLeod history ...
"The MacCrimmons, hereditary pipers at Dunvegan, became pre-eminent pipers and people were sent from all over Scotland to be perfected as pipers. The MacCrimmons had a piping college at Boreraig, where a cairn now commemorates the family" - re the last paragraph in this description.

I think Dad, with his very Scottish name, Gordon Kenneth MacLeod MD (my name too - Gordon Kenneth MacLeod III, where my nickname is Scott, and that Dad was formerly GKM Jr. until he became a medical doctor) - learned much of this MacLeod history by reading and possibly from acquaintances, but possibly some from his parents and family, Gordon Kenneth MacLeod Sr. and Margaret Driscoll MacLeod  (but I don't really know).

But am curious in an ongoing way about what I'll call this latent, quite latent, IDENTITY (social theory-wise esp.) generation of "MacLeod" and "Scottish" and how it somehow took shape in our family.  And MacLeod name family history-wise, and re Scottish identity too, I'm glad I'm an American, and developing too World University and School, in that it will potentially help a lot of Scots and MacLeods in Scotland too. (There's even a not yet begun MacLeod Society Worldwide wiki subject at WUaS - https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Subjects).

Having recorded all of the bagpiping tunes in the College of Piping's Green Tutor Vol. 1 on the Scottish Small Pipes on an A chanter, and appreciating how this goal of recording so that others learning the SSP in A could learn with a Tutor (by playing with eventually), I think I'm now going to try to record as many tunes as possible that work on the Scottish Small Pipes on a D chanter - and soon on B flat chanter, which is coming in the mail.

What do you think about all of this family history re the MacLeod name, Ma? :)

Love, Scott

Pretty cool pictures here of Dunvegan Castle - https://www.dunvegancastle.com

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunvegan_Castle

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Flag

https://www.ancient-origins.net/artifacts-other-artifacts/mysterious-fairy-flag-clan-macleod-and-its-legendary-protective-powers-020884

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Fairy-Flag-of-the-MacLeods/






Scott MacLeod
May 18, 2019, 5:39 PM
to Mark

Mark,

I'm writing to wish you a very happy birthday:

Guitar four-hands? Now, wait a minute ... cross-handed, too :) Lovely music, as well ... http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xaavt9 ... worth re-visiting :) Joyeux anniversaire!

With very best wishes, Scott

Doobie Bros-Listen to the Music ~https://t.co/kz2jdMpEkf
Been going off on a blockchain ledger riff and re Brìghde Chaimbeul's new piping CD - "The Reeling" + ... https://t.co/08oCqXEQFO& ELECTRIC CHURCH MUSIC-wise + re blockchain below - https://t.co/uycgkY0TBq@TheOpenBand ~

— HarbinBook (@HarbinBook) March 4, 2019

- https://twitter.com/HarbinBook/status/1102669699110776832



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Mark MacLeod
May 19, 2019, 4:09 PM
to me

Thanks Scott! Great video, looks quite hard.

FYI, I've met up with your brother Sandy a couple of times recently. I'm building a house in Portland and have re-connected with Gerry Kennedy and Mary Lou, and they're good friends with Sandy. He seems well and we'll soon be neighbors.


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Scott MacLeod
May 19, 2019, 8:42 PM
to Mark

Thanks Mark too! The music-making in video looks fun too - quite synchronized brains-wise even, and lyrical ! Happy birthday ! :)

Sounds great too that all you 1st cousins will be neighbors soon in the Portland Maine area (and re many family roots). When might you move in? And would you move completely from Newfoundland, or live part time in Canada as you children go through university there?  Greetings to Gerry, Mary Lou and Sandy, when you see them next!

Warm regards, Scott



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Mark MacLeod
May 20, 2019, 1:28 AM
to me

Scott,

Our plans are to move to Portland near year end. As to Newfoundland, our middle child Kyle will likely stay here. He got a Master's degree in economics a couple of years ago and now works as an energy marketer. Our oldest Kenneth works as a lawyer in Manchester England and our youngest Claire is finishing her second year at University of St. Andrews in Scotland. That said, both Roberta and I have connections here in St John's (ongoing research projects for Roberta and Board positions for me) so we will be back and forth, and we might keep an apartment here.

I've been spending a fair bit of time on MacLeod genealogy. I've got a pretty good idea of our family connections here in Newfoundland and back to Ireland and I have a few distant cousins here in town. I've also found a MacLeod from James MacLeod's first marriage to Ann Bulger who settled in Portland, Maine (a George S. MacLeod). All fun stuff!

Hope all is well with you!



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Scott MacLeod
May 20, 2019, 8:40 AM
to Mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks for your email. Your family genealogy research sounds great and interesting. What main software are you using and have you found most helpful for organization and research? (Any of the one's below?) Thanks too for your kids' news. Interesting to learn of their career developments in a variety of English-speaking countries (and re my seeking to begin a family as well).


I had Family Tree Maker (and related) some years ago (in the 1990s) and had uploaded most of my ~400 items of data before hard drive failure:

Scott Gordon K. MacLeod III's Family Tree Genealogy website -

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/a/c/Gordon-K-Macleod-iii/index.html

(with many more related pages/links here  http://scottmacleod.com/family.htm)
Your move to Portland, ME, sounds great, as well as your plans for multiple domiciles. Congratulations on all your kids successful career developments as well. Any chance if I got Family Tree Make again for the Mac, that we could sync family trees (if this is possible? - per the review below).


Scott


best genealogy software for Mac in 2019 in order of ranking.
RootsMagic. RootsMagic has been in the family tree business for years and although started life on Windows, can now be used on Mac too. ...
Family Tree Maker. ...
MacFamilyTree. ...
Heredis. ...
GEDitCOM II. ...
iFamily For Mac. ...
Gramps. ...
Reunion for Mac.
- https://machow2.com/best-family-tree-software-mac/


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Mark MacLeod
May 20, 2019, 12:21 PM
to me

Scott,

I read an article by a guy who was both a genealogy expert and an IT expert. His forecast was that genealogy software would move away from apps running on your home device to apps running entirely on the internet. In fact, a friend named Bob Glynn (note same surname as our g-grandmother Mary!) had his father's work on a discontinued PC app called The Master Genealogist and it has been a pain to convert.

So, I use Ancestry.com and it seems to work fine. It may not be pro stuff but it does what I need it to do. It provides access to incredible volumes of data and has links to DNA analysis. If your app can export a GEDCOM file, Ancestry can read it. I can send anyone a link to my family tree or demo the tree on any device. The downside is Ancestry will be after you to join.


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Scott MacLeod
May 20, 2019, 3:24 PM
to Mark

Mark,

I think I've used Ancestry.com as well in the past. That with Broderbund genealogy software & Family Tree Maker all may have merged I think I recall. Thanks too for the heads' up.

How old was kiltmaker and tailor James Edward McLeod on PEI in 1850s when he had his last children? And do we know whether he came from Inverness or Edinburgh, which Gerrard at one time suggested?

Am curious what WIKI geneaology software version might emerge, and re Wikidata, which WUaS is also in in its 300 languages, and even whether a realistic virtual earth for geneaology with avatar bots might energe and for genetic engineering even (thinking Google Street View with Stanford medicine here).

Cheers, Scott
(Ancestry.com related pages/links here I think:  http://scottmacleod.com/family.htm)


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Mark MacLeod
May 22, 2019, 6:03 AM
to me

Scott,

Assuming James Edward was born in 1824, he was 64 when his last child - Margaret Emilia McLeod, aka Amy MacLeod - was born in 1888 in Charlottetown. He fathered 17 children. Edward died in Boston in 1899 and Amy died in 1980. Edward's son and our great grandfather Ernest beat him on the age score. Ernest married his second wife Ruth White when he was 67 and their last child Helen was born when he was 81! Helen lives in Maine and is younger than me! Ernest fathered 14 children. 

I'm not sure where Edward was born. I've heard both Inverness-shire and Edinburgh. I like Edinburgh better because he seemed to like cities (Charlottetown, Halifax, Boston). and there is less need for a tailor in the countryside. I also found a marriage license for one of his sons (George S.) from the first marriage to Ann Bulger that lists his father's birth location as 'Edinburg'. 

I also think of advancing technology for genealogy. I expect a growing understanding of family histories as more data gets digitized, software improves, and more people build and share trees and get their DNA analyzed. BTW, have you had your DNA analyzed? If not, have it done by Ancestry and we can add it to the growing database on the MacLeods. It's quite simple to do. I hope that with enough MacLeod DNA we might be able to reduce the uncertainty on where James was born, among other benefits.



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Scott MacLeod
May 22, 2019, 9:39 AM
to Mark

Mark,

You're a wonderful trove of great family information and history. Thank you. I'd like to begin to look at the evidence with time as well.

With DNA tests now past the 'bleeding edge,' ie they're developed and are beginning to become somewhat sophisticated, I

Searched on
Does Family Tree Maker or Ancestry.com do better DNA tests?

Found: https://www.myfamilydnatest.com/best-dna-test-23andme-vs-ancestry-vs-ftdna/

Am learning what they have begun to home in on. Looks like Family Tree Maker has a smaller database, but is good in most other categories.

First probably to Family Tree Maker genealogy software, then in a few years to DNA tests, when they'll even be more developed. And maybe I'll have begun a family by then too. Am curious about the data-interoperability of genetic tests re these different software platforms too - re information-exchange, licensing, as well as related knowledge-generation. Something further to look into!

It's so interesting to read your James Edward McLeod history ... our great great grandfather from Scotland probably ... with time I'd like to examine the data too, including your great email. It's the
narratives that emerge from such sleuthing, and from the software that facilitates this, that I found particularly fascinating ... origin stories (and I write this as an anthropologist focusing on the physical-digital, the actual-virtual re emerging virtual worlds too!)

Appreciatively,
Scott


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https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/m/a/c/Gordon-K-Macleod-iii/index.html - accessible from here - http://scottmacleod.com/family.htm) - and especially once I get some new genealogy software (leaning toward Family Tree Maker 2017 for Mac - https://www.mackiev.com/ftm/ - perhaps in its next version, potentially with a focus on DNA since it has such a wide group of users, and tops many lists).


https://www.visitscotland.com/see-do/landscapes-nature/northern-lights/